After being one of Ole Miss’ first commitments for its 2012 signing class, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Battle Ground Academy quarterback (Franklin, Tenn.) officially decommitted from the Rebels over the weekend in exchange for a spot on the Iowa Hawkeyes list.

“I have a bunch of respect for Coach (Hugh) Freeze and all, but I just kind of felt like he was more honoring my scholarship than anything,” Beathard said during a brief phone interview. “I just didn’t feel very wanted, I guess, by him. Iowa seemed like they really wanted me so I just had that gut feeling.”

Beathard said his verbal commitment to Ole Miss had been eating at him for some time.

“I’ve been solid with Ole Miss. Coach Freeze came down to my house after he got hired and we talked and it was good,” Beathard said. “And then I was feeling a little shaky but I didn’t really think about anything and then on my official visit we went to a room with my family and we talked to Coach Freeze and he kind of encouraged me to take other visits if I wanted to take more visits and I kind of felt like if he was wanting me to do that then (maybe I should look at other schools).”

Beathard later added the number of scholarship quarterbacks currently on Ole Miss’ roster (freshman Maikhail Miller, sophomore Bo Wallace, junior Barry Brunetti and seniors Randall Mackey and Zack Stoudt), and the fact the Rebels coaches were still pursuing other signal callers made him uneasy about his commitment.

“I had no problem going in and competing for a job, but throughout the year the coaches just kept looking and kept looking for other quarterbacks and it got me thinking like, ‘well maybe I should look around,’” he said.

Beathard said his high school coach sent film to Iowa following his official visit to Oxford “just in case” and the Hawkeyes staff immediately showed interest in Beathard.

Beathard had originally committed to Ole Miss in May.

According to Rivals.com site HawkeyeReport.com, Iowa signed a junior college QB during the early signing period but has no other signal caller committed.

Still a Rebel
Former Ole Miss baseball player and Myrtle standout Jimel Judon is making the switch to the gridiron, his parents confirmed Monday evening.

Myrtle does not have a football program, so playing ootball will be new to Judon and as such, there’s expected to be a rather steep learning curve.

The combination of Judon’s size (listed at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds a year ago), athleticism and academic scholarship, however, makes the decision to take the former baseball player as a walk-on a no-brainer for the football staff.

Judon’s parents were unsure what position Judon would start out at, but considering his size and the fact he met with new Ole Miss offensive line coach Matt Luke over the weekend, it’s likely the staff tries him at offensive line.

When asked about the switch on his Twitter account, Judon replied “it’s official!!!”

Judon would have been a redshirt freshman on the baseball team this season but did not make the initial round of roster cuts prior to winter break. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.

From Knight to Rebel
According to RebelGrove.com, Ole Miss flipped former Central Florida verbal commit John Youngblood this morning.

This morning Youngblood tweeted “I was always told that I was a rebel…now I know what it really feels like to be one. #OleMissbound #HottyToddy.”

Youngblood (Hewitt Trussville; Trussville, Ala.) is listed as a 6-foot-5, 230-pound defensive end and is considered a two-star prospect by Scout.com and Rivals.com. (January 31, 2012, Page 8)